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11 – 14 of 14The author argues that the causes of this current epidemic of bad leadership include the leaders' personality disorders, akrasia (weakness of will), flawed values, and avoidance…
Abstract
Purpose
The author argues that the causes of this current epidemic of bad leadership include the leaders' personality disorders, akrasia (weakness of will), flawed values, and avoidance of reality. The complicity of followers also contributes.
Design/methodology/approach
The author offers a twin‐scenario model. In one case stressed leaders become pragmatists. In the other they act out this alternative: The would‐be visionary, seduced by power and a growing sense of certitude, first becomes isolated and then gets lost. When plans fail to deliver wins, the leader grows tyrannical, wields power wrongly, and devolves into a fallen star and self‐serving “decider,” often surrounded by fawning acolytes.
Findings
The subsequent emergence of bad leadership can be averted if leaders will pay attention to the welfare of stakeholders, listen to alternative points of view and perspectives, rely on their team for support, foster a culture of integrity, and cultivate personal awareness. Followers must give honest feedback and develop coalitions to foster a balance of power within the organization. If all else fails, externally‐imposed regulation may be necessary.
Practical implications
The author offers practical advice to both leaders and followers to enable them to avoid the perils of the bad leadership.
Originality/value
By identifying the causes and likely cures for bad leadership and bad followership the author makes it easier for stakeholders to address the problem and take action and for boards to select the right candidates for leadership roles, a critical board responsibility.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss a technique called the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) for possible use in the types of market research or management research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss a technique called the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) for possible use in the types of market research or management research where it is desirable to generate as many ideas as possible.
Design/methodology/approach
The benefits of the NGT were researched in a literature review. After this, qualitative research among research practitioners who have used the technique in Australia was conducted. One focus group of five researchers and three in‐depth interviews were conducted. Some of these responses are presented verbatim, in this paper, to order to illustrate the positive evaluations of the technique by researchers.
Findings
The research practitioners in this research were generally very positive about the NGT as a technique for idea generation. The conclusion from the research reported on in this paper is that the use of techniques such as Brainstorming, and the NGT have very beneficial roles to play in management and market research.
Practical implications
Brainstorming techniques and the NGT are discussed as fruitful methods for use in market research. The productive role of silence in idea generation research is also commented on.
Originality/value
Results from the literature review and the original research were compared, and were found to have a high level of congruence. This has implications for research practitioners because while many researchers are aware of Brainstorming techniques, fewer are aware of the potential of the NGT in market research.
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Keywords
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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The study of markets encompasses a number of disciplines – including anthropology, economics, history, and sociology – and a larger number of theoretical frameworks (see Plattner…
Abstract
The study of markets encompasses a number of disciplines – including anthropology, economics, history, and sociology – and a larger number of theoretical frameworks (see Plattner, 1989; Reddy, 1984; Smelser & Swedberg, 1994). Despite this disciplinary and theoretical diversity, scholarship on markets tends toward either realist or constructionist accounts (Dobbin, 1994; Dowd & Dobbin, forthcoming).1 Realist accounts treat markets as extant arenas that mostly (or should) conform to a singular ideal-type. Realists thus take the existence of markets as given and examine factors that supposedly shape all markets in a similar fashion. When explaining market outcomes, they tout such factors as competition, demand, and technology; moreover, they can treat the impact of these factors as little influenced by context. Constructionist accounts treat markets as emergent arenas that result in a remarkable variety of types. They problematize the existence of markets and examine how contextual factors contribute to this variety. When explaining market outcomes, some show that social relations and/or cultural assumptions found in a particular setting can qualify the impact of competition (Uzzi, 1997), demand (Peiss, 1998), and technology (Fischer, 1992). Constructionists thus stress the contingent, rather than universal, processes that shape markets.